The President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota is one tough lady. Sarah Stoesz says after months of deceptively edited videos and faux witchhunts, Planned Parenthood opponents are changing their focus.
For Cosmopolitan, Robin Marty wrote:
They’re no longer angry just about “tissue procurement,” or even abortion itself…instead, [Stoesz] sees their actions as a symbol of their general unhappiness with the provider for its role in allowing women to be independent, autonomous participants in society.
Stoesz says she’s been called a lot of names, but now there are some new choice phrases being hurled at her, including whore and jezebel.
Stoesz told Cosmo:
“Whore” is a different framework. “Baby-killer” is one thing, “whore” is something different entirely. I just think it’s further evidence that this is all about women’s empowerment.
Later she told Cosmo:
What represents women’s empowerment more than we do? Nothing. We provide the care that one in five women in this country get. We don’t turn anyone away for lack of economic resources. We protect them. We support them. We never shame them, we embrace them.
The end goal of these opponents isn’t banning abortion or getting Stoesz fired – it’s completely shutting down the reproductive health network altogether, which would mean millions of women would lose access to critical services.
Slut-shaming Stoesz for leading an organization that puts women’s health care decisions in their own hands is just one more horrific tactic these opponents have taken to make that happen.